My Clutter, My Story: A Photovoice Exploration of Quality of Life

Delinda Free, M.S.W. and Matthew Strickland, M.S.W., Masters Program, Social Work, Portland State University School of Social Work, Portland, Oregon, USA

Proposal Abstract

Hoarding and excessive clutter are the subject of now hundreds of research articles, dozens of episodes of television programs, countless cartoons and catch-phrases such as “she’s such a hoarder.” The individuals who engage in hoarding and cluttering behaviors are often singularly and narrowly defined and lack the ability to share their view and voice around a situation that impacts them most intimately. In an effort to standardize the study of hoarding and understand the problem more effectively, the perspective of people who hoard and clutter is sometimes lost amidst the data and professionalism. In this small-scale qualitative study using the person-centered empowering data collection method of Photovoice, people with hoarding and cluttering behavior will share their perspective on their quality of life. The findings from this study may be useful to other sufferers, family members, human service providers and policy makers.